2023 Leoville Barton
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Tasting notes
This offers a very delicate and classical nose with rich dark berry fruit and pencil shavings. The tannins are so subtle, with lovely structure, yet offering a silky, velvet mouth-feel. This is a vibrant Leoville Barton, offering fresh, precise and lively palate, with hints of leather and blackberry. There is a lot of weight that really steams through at the end, this is a very elegant St Julien that will age effortlessly. Aged in 60% new oak. Blend: 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
William Kelley, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
The 2023 Léoville-Barton is wonderfully poised and expressive. Graphite, sage, crushed rocks, incense, spice and pencil shavings resonate off a core of vibrant dark blue and black fruit. Today, the 2023 is quite backward. I would give it at least a few years in bottle, as the tannins and acids need time to integrate. Léoville-Barton is such a Saint-Julien archetype. Gorgeous.
Cassis, blackcurrants, graphite, tobacco, and a hint of crushed stone all emerge from the 2023 Château Léoville Barton, a more Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated effort that spent 18 months in 60% new French oak barrels. A final blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, and 3% Cabernet Franc, it's medium to full-bodied and stays tight, compact, and straight on the palate, with a classic Léoville Barton style. With roughly 15,800 cases produced, it's beautifully done and will have 50 years of longevity. Drink 2028-2073.
The 2023 Léoville Barton takes time to open in the glass, delivering vivid blackberry and briar mixed with cedar, delicate floral scents of peony surfacing with time. It is typical Barton but with greater precision compared to vintages 10 or 20 years ago. The palate is medium-bodied with finely chiseled tannins, pretty, not powerful or weighty, yet light on its toes with ample mineralité on the finish. More approachable than the 2022, this is an excellent Léoville Barton.
About the producer
Ch. Léoville Barton is a Second Growth Saint-Julien estate, one of the three famous Léoville estates (along with Léoville Poyferré and Léoville Las Cases). Owned by the Barton family (along with Ch. Langoa Barton), it produces classically structured Claret that ages beautifully.